I can't do this (Without you)
by Joy Booth
Summary: A busy day for Grant and Skye Ward. In the "I can't breath" family.


**_A/N: So I heard that it is #Skyeward appreciation week on tumblr, and I had been meaning to write this for a while so here it is, another companion in the I can't breath family._**

**Ward Residence, Torrance, California, January 2024**

"I don't like it," she frowned, trying not to let Grant see that she was about to cry. _Damn Hormones!_

"I don't like it either babe, but I am still technically a field agent until the end of the week. You know how it goes when you get the call," he shrugged. In truth from the moment his phone rang he had been cursing his bad luck. The last thing he wanted to do was leave his very pregnant wife to go track down some rouge agent.

"Yeah, I know, but that doesn't mean I have to like it," she grumbled. She knew it wasn't his fault that he was being called away, but she had woken up with a back ache, and as silly as it felt she just didn't want him to go.

"Then it's agreed, we don't like it. I tell you what, I promise to get this guy as fast as possible, and when I get home I will make you that chocolate mousse you like so much and we can watch any season of Doctor Who you want."

Skye continued to fight tears, god he was the sweetest man she had ever met. Clearing her throat, then realizing that there was no way her voice wouldn't crack if she spoke, she simply smiled her biggest smile and agreed with a nod. Ward saw through her fake smile, and pulled her into his arms.

"It's gonna be fine babe, routine asset retrieval," he whispered, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

"That's what you said before Brussels," she mumbled into his chest.

"Brussels was… yeah it was bad, but that was mostly because of bad intel. This mission was organized by Coulson himself. You know he wouldn't send me on a wild goose chase, especially right now."

"I just wish I could be there to have your back," she sighed.

"I know, but we both know that isn't an option anymore."

"I could watch from ops," she offered. "You know be the voice in your head for old time's sake?"

"You need your rest, doc said bed rest for at least another week or two," he reminded her gently, only to be interrupted by his phone beeping. "I really have to go."

"I know, I know, just go," Skye huffed as she pulled away from him and headed for the kitchen. By the time he was at the front door she met him with a protein shake and a banana. "Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, or so some pain in the ass S.O. always told me."

"It is, babe and tomorrow I will be here to return the favor," he promised, sneaking one last kiss before getting into his standard issue black SUV. As he pulled out of the neighborhood, he called the best person he could think of to keep Skye company.

"Well hello, stranger," came the always warm voice of Jemma Fitz-Simmons. Leo and Jemma had decided when they got married to make their little work nickname their official moniker.

"Hey Jem, sorry to bother you, but I got called in to deal with this Salinger situation. Is there any way you could swing by the house and keep Skye company for a bit? This bed rest is making her a little stir crazy."

"Of course, Grant, you know Skye is like a sister to me. I will see if Leo can stay with the twins for a bit, and head right over," she agreed happily.

"You're the best!" Grant sighed. He was not fooled for a moment by Skye's fake smiles, so he was thankful that she would have someone there to take her mind off of what he was doing in the field.

"I am happy to help, and Grant, be safe out there," Jemma said seriously.

"Always," Grant promised, before ending the call.

Back at home, Skye had returned to the bedroom. She was bored, her back hurt and all she wanted to do was go to the gym and work out some of her anxiety on a heavy bag, but she knew she needed to get back into bed for the baby, so she did. She built a mountain out of pillows, and aimlessly flipped through every channel cable had to offer. As always, there were 1000 channels and nothing worth watching.

She sighed and pulled her laptop out. There was always something new on the internet. She scrolled through youtube, and tumblr, and reddit, and twitter, but nothing held her interest. The doctor said she could be up about 5-10 minutes ever hour, so she checked to see how much time had passed since Grant left. It had only been 25 minutes. The stupid white numbers in the corner of her screen mocked her. Luckily it was at this exact moment that the doorbell rang.

_It would be rude to at least not go see who it is, _she thought as she hurried down the stairs. Checking the peephole, she saw the familiar face of her best friend.

"Jemma, what are you… Ward called you, didn't he?" Skye rolled her eyes in exasperation and appreciation of her thoughtful husband.

"Agent Ward may or may not have sent me on the very important mission of keeping my best friend entertained while he was away," Jemma teased as they headed up the stairs.

"I don't know how you stayed in bed for 2 months with the twins, Jem. I am losing it," Skye admitted as she flopped onto the bed.

"It is all worth it in the end," Jemma shrugged.

"I know, I just feel like… I don't know… Like my whole body is juiced for a fight and all I can do is lie here and watch reruns of Top Chef."

"I brought cards," Jemma said, pulling a deck of playing cards from her enormous mom bag.

"Gin?" both girls asked at the exact same time before erupting in giggles. Gin rummy had been one of their favorite late night games back on the bus. One game often lasting serval days and household chores awarded to the loser in the end.

They played serval hands before Jemma's cell phone rang.

"I am really sorry Skye, but Fitz has to get to work," Jemma explained when the call ended.

"I understand, give the kids a hug for me," Skye smiled, trying to hide her disappointment.

"Of course, do you need anything before I go?"

"Nope, Grant has packed the fridge with all my favorites, and lined every shelf with something to keep me busy. I'm sure I will find something to do."

"All righty then, call if you need anything," Jemma said as she disappeared out the door.

On the bright side, Jemma had successfully distracted her for almost two hours, so Skye rewarded herself with a trip to the kitchen. She looked in the fridge, and then the pantry, but nothing sounded good.

"Come on baby, you have to eat something," she whined, rubbing her stomach as she contemplated a bowl of cherry jello before returning it to its place. Eventually she settled on a bowl of lucky charms and carried it up the stairs to her prison cell / bed.

After three bites, she put the bowl aside and began searching for something to watch. She settled on a rerun of storage wars, before nodding off. When she woke up, her cereal was congealed bowl of goo, but the sun was low in the sky, meaning Ward would hopefully be home soon.

As she made her way to the bathroom, she felt a tightening in her stomach.

"Not now kid, dad says you have to wait a little longer," she mumbled, rubbing out the tightness before she continued on her way. She was almost back to the bed when it happened again this time causing her to lean on the wall a bit. "Yeah, yeah, I know it is crowded in there dude. It is no picnic for me either," she grumbled as she climbed into bed.

For a while, she tossed and turned and flipped channels and opened and closed her laptop, before finally she looked at the clock and saw that another hour had passed. Grant would be home soon, or so he had said. She decided to take her bowl of gruel down to the sink and put a casserole in the oven.

As soon as she stood up though, the tightness was back and the only way to deal with it was to squat down to keep the pain tolerable.

"Do you mind, kid, some of us are trying to get stuff done," she grumbled, unwilling to think about what the tightening could mean. _It's Braxton hicks,_ she thought, _it has to be Braxton hicks. _At the bottom of the stairs it happened again, causing her to drop her bowl as she doubled over.

"God… Dammit…"she whined between deep breaths. It was at this moment that the door opened.

"Honey, I'm Ho… Oh my god, Skye. What's wrong?" Ward called as he ran across the room to her.

"I… Um… Hey, honey, nothing's wrong," she smiled, pulling herself up, but leaning heavily on the rail of the staircase.

"Are you in labor?" he asked taking in her sweaty brow and furrowed brow.

"No… Of course, not Grant… It's just Braxton hicks," she mumbled as she squatted again with another wave of pain. ,"

"How long have you been like this?" Ward asked calmly.

"Oh not long," she gritted out between her teeth.

"Ok well, just to be safe, let's go to the hospital," he offered, pulling on her arm.

"No, no…" she replied pulling from his grasp. "I think I am just going to go take a shower. Can you clean up the… ahhhhhh… the cereal?" she blinked hard and tried to turn back up the stairs.

"Skye, hospital, now," he insisted, catching her arm again and this time managing to pull her into his arms.

"The bag, we… ahhhhh Mother gahhhh,,,, we need to get the,,,, gahhhh… Bag," she whined, trying to pull away again.

"We need to go to the hospital, now, Skye," he tightened his grip and turned toward the door.

"First time labors last twelve plus hours, Ward, we have… mmmmmm… plenty of time," she insisted, though her grip on his hand told a different story.

"Where is the bag?" Grant asked, changing tactics.

"Upstairs… mmmmmmm… baby's room..."

"Alright," he said, lowering her onto the bottom step. "You sit tight for a minute and when I get back we are going to the hospital."

"Yes, sir," she nodded, her response scaring him with its lack of her usual sass.

True to his word, Ward was back before the next contraction was leading her out the door when she pulled away again.

"Skye, what are you…"

His question was cut off by the sound of her throwing up in the downstairs bathroom.

"That's it Babe, we are going to the hospital, now," he said as she rinsed her mouth.

The drive to the hospital was much faster than it should have been, (with Ward breaking every speed limit and ignoring stop signs several times) but to both of the occupants of the car, it lasted forever. Ward was trying to remember everything he had read in the baby books, as well as every field medicine book he had ever read. Skye, on the other hand, was cursing every red light and trying her very best not to break every finger in her husband's right hand.

When they finally arrived, they were shuffled into the ER where an ancient nurse told them to have a seat.

"My wife's in labor," Ward repeated, thinking the old woman had not heard him.

"Yes, and someone will be here in a minute, have a seat," the dinosaur repeated, gesturing vaguely to a row of plastic chairs.

"It's fine Grant. I'm fine… oh my god," Skye started out trying to keep her husband from losing it, only to be halted mid-sentence when she realized that her water had just broken all over the sterile, white linoleum. She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, hoping against hope that she was wrong, but when she opened her eyes the evidence was still there.

"Mrs. Ward?" Called another nurse, this one in pink scrubs, pushing a wheelchair.

Skye raised her hand, "I… uh… I think I…"

"Don't worry hun, happens all the time," the nurse assured her as she settled in the wheelchair. "Who's ready to have a baby?"

At that exact moment, all the color drained from Ward's face. The realization hit him like a ton of bricks, he was going to become a father… Today.

Just an hour after Grant and Skye Ward arrived at the hospital, their daughter Stella Katherine Ward joined them. She was the most beautiful baby either had ever seen, and though she was born a bit early, she was in perfect health and weighed a full seven pounds.

It was after eight that night that they were finally able to call the team to let them know about the new addition. Coulson and May stopped by for a quick visit and left a huge bouquet of balloons, which Melinda insisted were not from her. Fitz also stopped in promising that Jemma would come by in the morning and also promising to babysit as soon as they were ready.

After all the visitors had come and gone, Ward sat on the bed next to his wife with his perfect daughter tucked into his arms.

"I can't believe you didn't call me," he mumbled, his eyes never leaving the newborn's face.

"I knew you were coming, and I didn't want to bother you," Skye shrugged nuzzling into his arm and trying to stay wake.

"What if I had been late?"

"You weren't."

"But I could have been," he pressed, felling guilty that she had suffered all day alone.

"But you weren't. Grant Ward, if there is one thing I know, it is that when I need you, you are always there and that is all that matters."

"But you could have called someone else, Jemma was with you for god's sake."

"But she isn't you, I couldn't have done it without you," Skye mumbled, as sleep came over her.


End file.
